Hi Mark,
I realize you're likely to get a flurry
of letters in response to the minimum wage pieces you had in your last issue.
Thank you for running those, btw. I also enjoyed the photos and story on your
trip to the Holy Land. Very nice. I am enclosing a letter with my admittedly
prosaic thoughts on the wage discussion. If you would like to run it, I'd be
delighted. Awhile back, you noted what a fine magazine The Atlantic is. Taking
your advice, or possibly due to the lovely portrait of Barack Obama on the
cover of the most recent issue, I took the plunge and subscribed. Thank you for
the recommendation.
To the editor:
Assemblywoman Woerner's proposal, for a
regionally adjusted minimum wage, has changed the debate. I hope that her
fellow Democrats, including the governor, recognize the utility in a plan that
takes into account the cost of living differences between upstate and
downstate. I appreciate that when she says her approach is data driven, she has
put forth the effort to look at statistics applicable to each region. She
admits the idea will need tweaking, but it sounds like an innovative first step
and worth exploring.
Matt Funiciello mentions Seattle having
raised their minimum to $15 per hour. Using an online calculator, I found the
cost of living in Albany (GF area is not available) is 80% of what it is in
Seattle. Fittingly, the wage Ms. Woerner is suggesting for the Albany/GF region
is $12 an hour, or 80% of $15. The added benefit of her legislation is the
greater possibility of it coming to fruition. I'm optimistic that our state
Republican office holders are more open to compromise than their federal
brethren.
Robin Barkenhagen's idea of a tax
deduction for employers, at least recognizes they would face a hardship if they
were required to go up to $15 per hour. It seems to this admitted non-economist
that the lost revenue would leave a big hole in the state budget which would
have to be filled. And maybe I'm looking at it wrong, but it appears the
business owners who are paying the lowest wages would get the largest deduction
because they would be raising pay the most. That seems unfair to those already
paying decent wages.
Thank you and be well,
Kevin Robbins
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